PREV
This nutrient-dense, protein-packed minestrone soup is everything I crave during the fall! It takes just 30 minutes to make and is full of tons of veggies, protein from beans and chicken sausage, which you can leave out if you’re vegetarian or vegan. While butternut squash isn’t traditional in minestrone, I love the texture and color it adds to this soup (and the autumnal vibes, of course!)
Let’s Make It
Preheat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add in the chicken sausage (casing removed) and use a wooden spoon or meat masher to break up the meat. Cook for about 5 minutes until the sausage begins to brown.
If you want to make this soup vegetarian, leave out the sausage and begin by sauteing the onion and garlic in olive oil.
Turn the heat down to medium, stir in the onion, celery, butternut squash, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until they begin to soften.
Stir in the canned tomatoes, chicken or vegetable broth, Harmony Mediterranean Blend (or Italian seasoning), salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.
Add in the pasta, cover and cook on medium low for 10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. Add in the chopped green beans, kidney beans, and chopped spinach and cook for 4-5 minutes until the green beans and pasta are cooked. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired.
Ladle soup into bowls and top with parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and chopped parsley with toasted bread on the side for dipping.
Photography by Angelica Oles.
I’ve made this twice now for both my extended family and my in-laws and everyone finds it very comforting! Thanks for this delicious spin on minestrone!
Made it tonight and realized I didn’t by 2 and of things so improvised and added more veggies and yummmm. So hearty so healthy . So pleasantly surprised with how delicious this is. Not surprised bc of broccoli- all your soups are my life- but surprised with HOW DELICIOUS and my first time making with being discouraged after not having everything . 10/10
Made this tonight and we all loved it, I added about 2 extra cups of broth to make it more soupy… I would omit the green beans next time, personal preference we just don’t love them in soup. Another great recipe 🙂
Such a great soup and it makes a huge batch! I used a cup of orzo (what I had on hand) instead of the ditalini and just one can of beans, and it was great. used a pound of ground turkey and added spices to make it taste like sausage – so delish!
The soup queen does it again! Was looking for something wholesome that required minimal effort and this was it. I subbed turkey sausage for the chicken sausage and bought pre-cut onions and celery to further minimize the effort. The Mediterranean blend Harmony spices pack a powerful punch and tasted so fresh in this. Pair this soup with a little crusty sourdough on the side and you are living your best soup life. This will definitely be on the rotation. Also loveee that it makes a big batch.
This soup is sooo flavorful! The Italian sausage brings the perfect amount of spice and flavor to the soup. 10/10 recommend! It is so hearty I could eat it every day. Only adjustment I would consider next time is to add more broth to increase the amount of liquid, especially as the noodles absorb it over time.
Just made this today and it’s excellent! Made a huge amount so definitely good for leftovers. I couldn’t find uncooked chicken sausage so substituted cooked black pepper and Parmesan chicken sausage links (diced up) and was delicious.
I made this tonight for dinner and it’s so good! Quite easy and feels both healthy and comforting!
Made tonight-omg, so good!! My husband said one of the best soups he’s ever had. I’d say this is way more than 6 servings though.. and I’m glad! We will be eating it all week.
This soup was so good and filling. It says that it is six servings, but I think that it is more than that (it made so much!).